Running On Empty
by Han Solo YOLO
Summary: In an AU that takes place in the United States in 1977, twins Luke and Leia embark on a summer road trip with Leia's sometimes-shady aquaintence, Han Solo. The trip will prove to be quite a trek for the trio, and the summer of '77 is bound to be full of adventure.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hi there! This was an idea that popped into my head two nights ago that was begging to be written out, so here it is. This is an AU where our favorite Star Wars characters don't live in a galaxy far, far away, but instead live relatively normal lives in the United States in 1977. I've always wanted to write a road trip AU, so I guess this is my chance! Enjoy!**

* * *

He was going to get out of there.

And, surprisingly enough, it wasn't going to happen in all the ways he'd imagined over the last three days. There was no grand escape plan, no tying knotted bedsheets to the window sill, or crawling through the duct work. His 72 hours were up, and he would soon be free to go.

Luke curled his bony fingers around his aching wrist, above the thick bandage put in place over the deep gashes. He didn't care to see the total damage he had inflicted on himself, because he had realized that the scars would still linger for the rest of his life. There would be plenty of time to look at them later. He wasn't proud of what he did, yet there was no going back now.

Leia had called the nurse's station earlier that morning, and reported that she'd be the one to pick him up. His father Anakin was likely too intoxicated to drive, or to even function, as usual. Leia had been the only one who had visited Luke during his three-day nightmare, if only briefly, and she revealed that their father had no intentions of visiting his son in the hospital.

"He's an asshole, Luke, and he's not getting any better with age," she sneered. He knew it was true. He just nodded while she continued on.

"You need to get out of this town, if only for the summer," she said.

"How am I going to do that? Just run away?" Luke questioned.

"We turn 18 in another week. After that, it's not running away."

"We don't have the money to do anything like that, Leia. We'd be able to buy maybe a tank of gas and a greasy hamburger before we'd be forced to go home again. And where would we even go?"

She sat in silence for a moment, pondering how much she should tell her brother. "I know a guy that's going to be driving cross-country for his job. We can hitch a ride with him, and just pick up the tab for gas and stuff!"

"Wait, wait, wait. Who is 'this guy?'"

She drummed her fingers nervously on a table. "Well, his name is Han. I don't necessarily love his company, or even like anything about him, but if he can get us out of here, I think we should go."

Luke's dazzling blue eyes met his twin's brown ones for a moment, before he reluctantly nodded.

"I'd say no, but I can't think of anything better to do. Beats sweating my ass off, working on Uncle Owen's farm all summer."

"Great," Leia said with a grin. "We're getting the hell out of here. It's a plan."

* * *

Luke noticed that a nurse had entered his room, with the tray of daily pills in hand along with drinking water, neatly arranged in white paper cups.

"Seems like this is your last treatment, because I see on your chart that you're leaving today," the stunning brunette said. "It was nice meeting you, Luke. I wish you luck."

He downed the cup of medication with his swig of water before answering. "Thank you, Jane. It was nice meeting you, too. I just wish it had been under different circumstances."

Jane wandered over to the window and pulled the curtains back, letting the mid-morning sun trickle into the room.

"You have a scheduled therapy session today, but I've already talked to Dr. Kenobi, and he said you're free to go whenever your sister arrives."

Jane straightened the flowers in a vase on the bedside table that Leia had left before adding, "So, what are your plans when you leave today? Are you doing anything exciting?"

"Well... I... I plan on going on a trip with my sister. We graduated high school last month, and she really wants to go somewhere. I'm just along for the ride, I guess."

"That sounds fun. I hope you find some time to relax, Luke! It's summertime, and we all need it."

She was heading for the door when she remembered something. "Oh! And Dr. Kenobi said to give you his card. Take it with you when you travel, and if you need to talk, he's always available."

He turned the card over in his hand before stuffing it in the pocket of his jeans. "Thanks. Will Dr. Kenobi be stopping in to check on me before I leave?"

"He said that he'll be finishing up a therapy session, and then he'll be in to see you," she said as she left the room.

He patted the card in his pocket. He couldn't imagine himself stopping at a payphone while out on a road trip to call his therapist. As much as she cared about him, Leia wouldn't put up with that, and he doubted that her apparent acquaintance, Han, would either.

He was unsure what to tell Dr. Kenobi, who seemed to genuinely care about his well-being. He was certain that it wouldn't please him to find out that Luke was planning to essentially run away from home. Dr. Kenobi had already aligned a schedule of therapy sessions for the next three months for Luke, and he was expected to attend each one to continue his progress. Dr. Kenobi was bound to be surprised when he would come to discover that his young patient had escaped to a summer of likely debauchery, but the summer of 1977 was to be full of surprises, and one more couldn't hurt, right?


	2. Chapter 2

Dr. Kenobi strode down the sterile-scented hospital corridor, down to the room of one of his younger patients, Luke Skywalker. He knocked on the wooden door before being invited in.

"Come in," Luke answered, turning to look at his psychiatrist.

Dr. Kenobi always seemed to dress well enough, Luke thought, even though most of his suits were a shade of dull brown. In the era of far-flung psychedelic colors and patterns, he looked rather ordinary.

"Good morning, Luke," he greeted. "How are you feeling today?"

Luke shrugged, "Well, I feel okay. I'm just waiting for my sister to come pick me up."

The doctor nodded. "Now, your sister is that brown-haired girl that came to see you yesterday, isn't she?"

"Yeah, that's her."

"She's very headstrong. Do you get along with her well?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, I do. She's one of the few people in my family that seems the most sane. I mean, compared to my father, and everyone else. She's just a little... pushy, sometimes."

"Now, about your father. I don't believe I ever saw his name on your visitation log. Where is he?"

Luke shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me. At home, I guess. Leia and I don't get along with him. Especially when he's drunk."

"I believe you have mentioned that your father is an alcoholic. Are you going to still be living with him when you go home today?"

Luke nodded solemnly.

"Would you like for other arrangements to be made with a social worker, so it's possible you could be placed somewhere else to aid in your recovery process?"

Luke let out a small sigh. "I can't just leave Leia. As much as we dislike living with our father, we help each other out, and I can't leave her alone with him."

Dr. Kenobi took down some notes on his clipboard, and ran a hand through his silver hair.

"I know that it would be hard for you to leave your sister in your father's home, but are you sure that you'll be able to complete your treatment schedule if you go home to your father? I strongly recommend that you continue with our therapy sessions."

He pulled out a small calendar book and it handed it to Luke. Luke opened it to the bookmarked page of the first week of June, to find times for therapy sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Luke closed the book and admitted, "I'm not sure if I'll be able to even make it here twice a week. I'll probably be working on my Uncle Owen's farm, and he doesn't leave much time off for me to do much else in the summer. And I'm not even sure if this will be covered under my father's insurance. If it isn't, we don't have the money to pay for this."

Dr. Kenobi straightened in his chair and met the young man's glance.

"Listen, Luke, you don't need to worry about the money. I've made some arrangements based on your family's situation, and you won't be charged. I'm going to help you get better."

Luke didn't know what to say. He was completely unsure of what the next few months would bring. Just as he was going to continue, Leia walked into the room.

"Hello, Dr. Kenobi," she greeted. "Am I bringing my brother home today?"

"Yes, you are. We were just discussing his treatment plan, if you'd like to have a seat."

Leia pulled up a chair, and immediately began flipping through the appointment book.

"You've scheduled him for... two sessions a week?" She gave Luke an unknowing look. "I don't know how we're going to pay for this."

"Dr. Kenobi said that he's made arrangements for my treatment to be affordable. It's covered," Luke offered, glancing up at the doctor. He nodded in reassurance.

"Yes, everything has been covered. I also discussed possibly getting Luke into a different living situation for the time being, but he says that he's comfortable returning home to your father's residence today."

Leia let out a small, nervous chuckle. "Well, I wouldn't exactly call it comfortable, but we'll make it work. Luke and I are getting out of this town for the summer."

Luke shot a quick glare at his sister, letting her know to shut up. She didn't.

"What?" she asked her brother. "Didn't you tell him where we're going this summer?"

"How could I? I don't even know where we're going for sure."

Dr. Kenobi looked at Luke, then Leia, then back to Luke.

"So, you're not going to be able to do therapy this summer?"

Luke felt his face flush. He didn't want to let the doctor down, as he had come up with an entire treatment plan for him, but Leia was right; they needed to get out of town and see the rest of the world.

"I-I'm going to try it. At least until we leave on this trip," he finally admitted.

"Very good. We'll meet again on Monday, and remember this: if you start feeling depressed when you're traveling, just stop and give me a call. I'm always here, and you have my card."

Luke nodded as he watched Dr. Kenobi stand up and head for the door.

"Good luck, Luke," he said, halfway out into the hallway before adding, "And remember to try and have some fun this summer, and take the medication that was prescribed to you."

"Thank you, Dr. Kenobi. I'll try."

He glanced over at Leia.

"Well, he's a typical doctor. 'Here, just take these pills, and everything will be great?'"

"The pills are helping, I think. I feel better."

She twirled a strand of her dark brown tresses around her index finger. "I'm glad that they are. And I'm sorry for butting in. I thought you would have mentioned your plans for the summer to him."

"It's all right. Now he knows. I didn't have to lie to him about it."

She gave him a plastic bag with clothes inside. "Here. I brought you clean clothes, so let's get out of here. Now the next person we have to convince is Dad."

"Good luck with that."

"Well, let's discuss our escape over lunch. I'm starving, and I doubt that the hospital food was very appealing to you."

Luke smiled for the first time in days. "Now you're talking, sis."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thanks so much to all that have favorited/followed this story so far! I'd love to hear what you think of this fic, so feel free to review!**


	3. Chapter 3

While walking their way to the nearest diner from the hospital, the mid-May sweltering Arizona sun beat down Luke and Leia's backs. By the time they reached the restaurant, they were exhausted and drenched in sweat.

The waitress, a portly woman in her mid-fifties, told them they could seat themselves wherever they wanted in the nearly-empty diner. Leia opted for a corner booth, right next to the window, and clear across the room from the old men that were sipping coffee, occasionally sneaking glances at the two teenagers. Leia fended them off by glaring over her menu at them, as their waitress rattled off the specials.

"I already know what I'm ordering, actually," Leia interrupted. "Cheeseburger plate with a chocolate malt, please."

Luke glanced up at his sister above his menu before closing it. "The same will be fine for me, thanks."

As the waitress sauntered back into the kitchen with their order, Luke found himself nervously rolling the sleeves down on his plaid button-down shirt to cover the bandages on his wrists. Every time the waitress had spoken to him, he could feel her gaze drifting to the puffy, pristine white gauze wound tightly on his arms. She gazed at him with a look of pity that could only ask, _"What's wrong with you_?" He couldn't help but feel self-conscious. He turned his head up to look at Leia, who looked perturbed.

"You don't need to hide that," she stated, taking a sip of water. "No one is judging you for what happened."

"I just don't want everyone to know. I feel awful for what I did."

The words stung as soon as he said them. He remembered what he had told Dr. Kenobi about wanting to still live at home because he didn't want to leave Leia behind. That's exactly what he would have done if his suicide attempt had been... well, more than an attempt. He knew that Leia was definitely strong enough to fend for herself in the world, but with the strong connection as twins, he would never want her to. They argued, they complained, and they occasionally fought, but at the end of the day, they protected one another.

" _Listen to me,_ " she said in the tone that always meant she meant business. "I _love_ you, okay? And you have no reason to feel bad about what happened. The past is the past, and if you can't take it back, you can't worry about it. You're still here. Forgive yourself."

A knot started to develop in Luke's throat. He eyed Leia as she stared out the window, past the diner's dilapidated neon sign, onward to the highway where people were leaving that godforsaken town, going a mile a minute. Their food arrived, snapping the both of them back to reality, and they both tacitly decided to dig into their meals.

* * *

Not much was said between the two siblings as they dined, until Leia was down to the last few French fries on her plate, and Luke had already finished.

"So, if we're going to do this road trip thing, we'll need a plan," Leia began, munching on a fry. "Han says he'll be making quite a few deliveries this summer, in cities all across the country, so we're going to be on the road for a while."

"Wait, what? Deliveries? Deliveries... of what?" Luke questioned.

"I honestly don't really know, and he hasn't really offered to tell me, but I have a hunch."

 _Drugs_? Luke mouthed.

Leia nodded reluctantly.

"Leia, no, we can't ride with him if there's a chance we'll get pulled over with a carload of..." he lowered his voice, hurriedly glancing around to check if anyone was listening. " _Drugs_!"

"He's been doing this for a long time, and he's never been arrested yet. Besides, I don't think it's anything too severe."

Luke was flabbergasted. "Anything _too severe?_ What drug is considered to be not severe?!"

"Pot," Leia whispered. "I mean, we'd all be in trouble if the cops found out about what we were doing, but it's not as severe as a lot of other things."

Great, Luke thought, I'm getting sucked into going on a road trip with a drug dealer. What could possibly go wrong? Luke already had his qualms about traveling with this guy he had never met, but now he was stuck wondering how Leia had gotten acquainted to the elusive Han Solo.

"Do you even know this guy?" he blurted out.

"Well, somewhat. I met him at a party. He's not a bad guy, and I swear that he won't murder us."

"That's reassuring."

"C'mon, Luke, he's just getting us from point A to point B. It's his job, and apparently he does it well enough."

"Well, what exactly is point B? What are we trying to find?"

Leia opened up her brown leather purse and pulled out a sheet of paper and a folded road map. She unfolded the map, which depicted the entire US highway system, and began jotting down a trail.

"Han is making deliveries in a few cities, actually, so this will take us a while," she began, admiring her handiwork as she nervously clicked her pen. "I was thinking that we have relatives that live in New York. Mom's cousins. If we can just get to New York, we can stay with them, if they'll allow it."

Luke stared at his sister, unsure of what to say.

"W-well, why would they just let strangers-basically strangers-stay in their house? We've never met any of Mom's relatives! They won't even know who we are!"

Leia refolded the map and tucked it away into her purse. Maybe it was wishful thinking on her part, but she liked to hold on to the belief that there was a piece of her family out there somewhere that actually cared about she and Luke. Enough to let them stay a night or two, at the very least. She didn't want to accept that her twin brother was the only person in the world that still cared about her.

Outwardly, she pretended like everything was a sure thing, and that they'd eventually find their long-lost relatives that would take them in, but inwardly, her mind was beginning to ache.

"Look, Luke, we have to at least try. Where we are right now isn't helping us."

Luke gazed into his twin's eyes and knew she meant it. He knew it was true, too. There was nothing for them to do in this desert town in Arizona, besides waste their lives away and watch the sun set in the Western skies.

"What will we tell Dad?" he asked.

"We won't. We'll just leave a note and leave the house."

"And what if he reports us as missing? Won't the cops come looking for us?"

Leia raised an eyebrow. "He won't report it. He somehow still has enough pride not to admit that the last two people in his life just got up and left him."

* * *

They soon had finished their meals and left the restaurant, forced to endure the hot sun streaming down upon them once again for the walk home. They made small talk as they made their trek, mostly about hammering out the little details of how they would pay for food on the trip, as well as how much Han would charge for taking them along.

"It can't be too much. If we just pay for gas a few times, that should appease him, but we'll see," Leia said.

They walked past a run-down and decrepit neighborhood bar, and Leia noticed a Ford Falcon haphazardly parked in the alleyway beside it.

"I think that's Han's car," she reported, brushing past Luke. "If he's here, maybe we can start making arrangements."

Leia bravely strode through the grimy, dimly-lit place, and almost barreled her way through a rowdy argument between two rival biker gangs. Luke followed his sister's lead and sidestepped the action, squinting to see in the smoke-filled room. Leia turned back to make sure that Luke was still with her, then motioned to a corner booth.

"That's him."

Han Solo guzzled the remnants of his long-neck Budweiser as a semi-familiar face approached him. She's pretty enough, he thought to himself. Although with Leia's constant expression of seriousness, Han was unsure if she wanted to just talk to him, or if she was a jilted past lover that wanted to wring his neck.

 _Uh, oh. She brought backup_ , he thought, eying up Luke. _He's scrawny, though. I can handle him._

"Han Solo?" Leia asked, shaking Han from his reverie.

"Who's asking?"

"Don't you remember me? I'm Leia, remember? We met at that party?"

Han squinted at her, and looked confused.

Leia, growing frustrated, let out a huff. "You were completely drunk and asked me to run away with you? You said you'd take me anywhere I needed to go?"

The corners of his mouth twitched upward into a sly grin. "Oh, hey, Princess. I'm glad you showed up!"

Leia rolled her eyes as she slid into the booth opposite Han. Luke still stood beside the table, hands jammed awkwardly in his pockets.

"Don't call me _Princess_. My name is Leia," she corrected. "And I want to know if the offer still stands."

Han guffawed. "Offer? Offer for what? I make a lot of offers when I've been drinking, sweetheart."

She lunged across the table and grabbed the collar of his shirt. Han could feel his chest hairs being pulled, and he came close to crying out in pain.

"Don't call me sweetheart either, _asshole_!"

He held his hands up in defeat. "Okay, I'm sorry. Now would you let go of me?"

She let go, and Han immediately smoothed his shirt collar.

"You're really making a great impression on me... uh, Leia. Now who the hell is this? Your bodyguard?" he asked, motioning to Luke.

"This is Luke, my brother. He'll be along for the trip, too."

For whatever drunken promises that Han made to this girl, he was certain that her bringing her brother along as a third wheel wasn't one of them.

"Um, what do you mean, 'along for the trip?' This ain't the Partridge Family."

"You're right, this isn't the Partridge Family, but it's similar in the fact that none of us will be getting laid."

Han scoffed. " _Oh_ , we'll see about that."

Without missing a beat, Leia once again shot him a glare before pulling out her road map and pen, and proceeded to tell Han her plan to get to New York. Luke finally slid into the booth beside Leia, and nodded in greeting to Han.

"You said that you have deliveries out that way. I'm thinking that we could eventually make our way through the Midwest, maybe take a sightseeing trip around the Great Lakes, and make our way to New York."

Han stared down at her map. "I don't do these deliveries to sight-see. I do it to make money. Now what's in it for me?"

Leia glared at Han before answering. "We'll pay for every other tank of gas to get you there. Once we've reached our destination, I'll buy you a 12 pack of beer, since that seems to be all you care about."

"Yeah, well, if you're going with me, I'm going to need some meals paid for, too. Three square meals a day," Han sneered back.

Luke had just watched the conversation ping-pong back and forth before he finally jumped in: "One meal a day!"

"Two meals: lunch and dinner," Han shot back.

"No. One meal," Leia insisted. Han met her steely stare for a few moments before answering.

"Fine. One meal a day, every other tank of gas, a 12 pack, and..." he patted the pocket of his black jeans. "A carton of cigarettes for the road."

Leia agreed. "Fine. Now when can you get us on the road?"

"Uhhh, tomorrow, around noon?"

"Why noon?" Luke questioned.

Han flicked a finger at the waitress, his signal for, " _Another_."

"I'm gonna need some time to sober up."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: I would like to first thank all who reviewed the first three chapters! I hope you enjoy this one! Oh, and as a slight warning, this chapter does contain inappropriate language.**

* * *

"LUKE! LEIA! GET YOUR SORRY ASSES OVER HERE!" the shout of their furious father Anakin echoed down the block as the twins made their way back home. Anakin was leaning against the mailbox, which was without a doubt the only thing keeping him from falling face-first onto the sidewalk.

"Shut the hell up, Skywalker!" a neighbor taunted.

"You shut the FUCK UP!" Anakin hollered, chucking the empty beer can he had been holding at the upstairs window of the house next door.

Luke and Leia hated to see him like that, but sadly, that wasn't the worst of it. There had been countless screaming matches and sleepless nights of worry in the Skywalker household, mainly caused by how drunk Anakin happened to be. The depressing thing was that their home life hadn't turned completely awful until their father sunk deeper and deeper into the abyss of his depression with alcohol as his coping mechanism, as he tried desperately to cope with the loss of Padme, Luke and Leia's mother, almost 18 years ago.

The kids got the brunt of the abuse, because they were the only ones who could stand to listen to Anakin anymore. Both Leia and Luke could see the blame in his eyes when he was intoxicated, as if he was certain that his twins were the cause of Padme's demise, as she had died tragically in childbirth. Eighteen years had gone by in a flash, but the emotional scars from her death were still forever present.

Luke and Leia glanced at one another as their father went into an all-out tirade.

"Where the f-f-fuck were you?!" he slurred. "Nobody listens to m-m-me in this g-g-goddamn house!"

"Dad, please, go in the house," Leia tried to coax, grabbing his arm. He ripped his arm away from her and stumbled to the front door on his own, before whirling around to look at Luke.

"And you!" he chastised, wagging a finger at his son. "You're a coward. You're a goddamn coward for what you did!"

Luke's expression crumpled as Leia herded Anakin back into the house. Luke remained outside the door, seated on the concrete steps, as Leia erupted into a tirade of her own against Anakin.

"Don't you EVER talk to him like that again!" Luke heard her scream, muffled by the wooden front door. "Do you seriously believe that YOU had nothing to do with what he did?! You make his life hell every day he has to live with you here! You're the coward!"

Luke winced when he heard a loud slap. As if he was on autopilot, he suddenly stood up and burst through the door. He wasn't prepared for what he saw: Leia was crumpled on the floor, hand to her face, and Anakin was stumbling about. Without even thinking twice about it, Luke punched his father square in the face, knocking him backward onto the floor.

"You're the coward if you hit a woman. Your own daughter!" Luke yelled.

He didn't bother to see if his father was okay, but instead went back to Leia, who had picked herself up from the floor, her face still stinging.

"Thank you, but I think I can defend myself," she said, rubbing her reddened cheek with her hand, tears welling in her eyes.

Luke pulled her into a hug. "I know."

They watched their father roll around on the floor in an attempt to get back up, before ultimately passing out in a drunken stupor.

"C'mon, let's get ready to see if we can go tonight. We'll call an ambulance to come get him, and we'll leave before it gets here," Luke suggested.

Leia pulled away from her brother and nodded. "I'll go gather our stuff. Can you call 911? I can't keep my emotions in check right now."

"Sure, sis. I'll be up in a minute."

Leia climbed the stairs while Luke just stood there for a few moments and watched their father. The ambulance would take him to the hospital and possibly put him under observation, but ultimately nothing would change. They had been through it all too many times before.

Their father was hell-bent on killing himself, Luke knew, and unlike his son, his weapon of choice was alcohol instead of a sharp knife.

* * *

In the second floor of the cramped home, Leia was frantically stuffing suitcases full of she and her brother's clothes and belongings. Luke eventually made his way up the stairs to assist.

"Did you call 911 yet?" she asked, trying to zip an enormous pile of clothes into her suitcase.

"No... I checked on him, though, and he just blacked out. I figured that we needed a little more time to get out of here."

Leia hefted the packed suitcase onto the floor, and quickly reached for another empty and smaller one. She quickly swept the beauty products that had been neatly organized on top of her dresser into the bag, and zipped it closed.

"What a way to tell Dad, huh?" Leia said, with an exasperated huff. "I'm not leaving a note, either."

Luke nodded solemnly as Leia handed him an empty suitcase to fill.

"I just packed the basics. Stuff you can dress in layers in, you know? And I've packed enough sunscreen and shampoo for the both of us, so you don't need to worry about that."

For what Luke had lost as a newborn when his mother died, he had gained in his sister. She was basically the mom that kept everything together in the household, from making sure to pack snacks and sunscreen, to giving out advice, whether Luke wanted to hear it or not. Luke wandered down the short hallway into his room, and sat down at the edge of the bed to get one last look. Leia must have mopped up Luke's blood from the suicide attempt up from the hardwood floors, because the only thing that remained was a slightly darker stain in the corner of the room. He noticed that the pocket knife he had used to slit his wrists was now gone from the dresser, and he figured that Leia had probably confiscated it.

A room full of memories: some good, and some bad. He decided to get down to packing, and began throwing clothes haphazardly into his suitcase, along with a few toiletries. It was almost time to go.

* * *

The twins hauled their suitcases-two for each of them, plus a sleeping bag each-downstairs to the foyer. Anakin was still passed out, so Luke quickly dialed the authorities. As soon as he gave the dispatcher the address, he hung up the phone, and they headed out.

Both of them tacitly agreed to run part of the way back to the bar and to Han, to both make up time and to stay as far away as possible when the ambulance and the police showed up. The suitcases weighed them down, but when they heard the sirens whooping up the street of their childhood home, they were already blocks away.

"Leia!" Luke panted, trying to catch up to his sister. "I think we can stop running, for now."

They slowed to a walk.

"I hope that Han isn't too drunk to drive us now," Leia said, annoyed.

"How are we even going to pay Han? Do you have any cash? I mean, I had some saved up, but..."

Leia unzipped the duffel bag that was slung over her shoulder and pulled out a large coffee can.

"My babysitting fund. Babysitting money for the last, oh, three summers?"

She discreetly opened the can, and inside was a thick stack of bills that covered the walls of the can.

"Nice thinking," was all he managed to say. He grabbed a wad of cash that he had stuffed in the pocket of his jeans and threw it in the can.

"Uncle Owen didn't pay much, but I've got some saved up."

Leia closed the can and stuffed it back in the bag. "Great. Let's go."

* * *

Han Solo guzzled another beer as he waited his turn to play pool, the neon beer light above the table flickering off and on.

"Damn it, how am I supposed to line up my shot when I can't even see in this dump?" complained Han's competitor, Greg.

"Ah, quit complaining. I could sink that shot with my eyes closed, and hands tied behind my back!" Han chided. "You're not going to win the bet by bitching through the whole game."

Greg hit the cue ball, and missed the shot completely. The barfly spectators roared, and Han's sly grin returned.

"Here, I'll show you how it's done," he assured, leaning down against the table, pool cue ready to strike. He pulled it back, and just as it was about to hit...

"HAN SOLO?!" A female voice burst through the front door of the bar. Han hit the cue ball so hard that it flew straight off the table and onto the floor, and the barflies immediately began to chide him.

"Who the hell is asking?!" he replied angrily, whirling around, only to come face to face (or, rather chest to face, considering their height difference) with Leia once again.

"I'm asking," she replied snidely. "Luke and I need to get out of here, and we'll give you a bonus if we can leave tonight."

Han looked around nervously at the other bar patrons before dropping his pool cue and ushering Leia by the arm over to a quiet corner.

"I told you; we need to keep this under wraps," Han explained to Luke and Leia. "And besides, we leave on my terms!"

Leia rolled her eyes. "We'll give you fifty dollars cash, right now, if you take us tonight. Otherwise, you might as well forget it, because we're leaving tonight, one way or another."

Han looked around the bar at all the nosey people staring back at him. He finally nodded in agreement.

"Fine. Put your stuff in my van out back," he said sternly. "And don't talk to _anyone_!"

* * *

 **Author's Note: I should probably mention that this story is also crossposted on Archive of Our Own, so you can read it there, if you prefer. Thanks for reading this far, and I'd love to hear what you think if you'd just hit that little review button and leave some words! Thanks!**


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